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Birds in the heat

Whilst some of us enjoy the hot weather, with cold beer and BBQs aplenty, it can have a devastating impact on our feathered friends. The heat causes many usual water sources to dry up, meaning birds have to search for a new source.

Birds cannot sweat, so they cool down by drinking and taking a dip, shaking water down through their feathers, which keeps them clean and lowers their temperature.

If you have a birdbath, keeping it topped up with fresh water can be a life saver for our feathered friends, but if you don’t, there are many other simple things we can all do in our outdoor space to help.

Creating a mini pond in your garden has many benefits for nature. Not only can it be exciting to see pond skaters, water lice (like long-legged underwater woodlice), and if you’re lucky, a few damselflies darting around the water, it can also double up as a bird bath. A mini pond can be made with an old washing up bowl and be really simple to make.

Another way to get your garden birds through the heatwave is putting out supplementary food as the hot weather may mean natural supplies, like worms, become scarce. We all know that in the winter time we need to feed birds but it’s important throughout the summer too.

In winter, supplementary food is often the only option for birds as natural food sources like berries get buried under snow and ice and insects are few and far between. But in summer birds will still be grateful for extra treats, as many are busy raising their young. Little and often is the best way as birds probably won’t eat quite as much as during the colder months and food left out in the heat can become rotten and cause more harm than good.